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During the past year and a half the Organization for Security
and Co-operation in Europe Spillover Monitor Mission to Skopje has
been working closely with our partners the Union of Women’s
Organisations (UWOM) and the Government’s Unit for Promotion of
Gender Equality (UPGE) on a number of important projects and
initiatives with the overall aim of promoting the principles of
gender equality in the country.
The OSCE Mission to Skopje feels that the successful
implementation of the project Women Can Do It II - 2005 Municipal
Elections demonstrated how a comprehensive programme with a
multi-dimensional approach can achieve these goals and
congratulates our partners on their excellent eff orts and
impressive results.
In December 2004, the OSCE Permanent Council adopted the Action
Plan for the Promotion of Gender Equality. The aim of the Action
Plan is to prioritise the improvement of gender equality in the
OSCE region and to ensure that the implementation is properly
monitored. The adoption of the Action Plan shows that the OSCE
continues to place great importance on promotion of gender
equality.
The results from the recent local elections have demonstrated
that a step forward has been taken towards improving the balanced
participation of women and men in political and public decision
making processes. The number of women elected as members of
municipal councils increased threefold, from 8.4 % up to 22.4 %,
when compared with the results from the previous local elections in
2000.
Progressively, a legal requirement of 30% quota provision was
introduced as of 2004 to allow women to be equally represented on
both upper and lower halves of the candidate list. Howewer, such
provision was not fully respected by all political parties and only
3 women mayors, a mere 3.5 % of total, were elected.
The OSCE Mission believes that the conclusions and fi ndings of
the project should be comprehensively analysed and the lessons
learned applied to future activities during next year’s
Parliamentary Elections.
This project has demonstrated that gender equality is becoming
an increasingly important issue for the political parties in this
country. The OSCE Mission will continue to give its support to
civil society in the implementation of concrete activities aimed
at
There is no progress nor democracy if one half of the population
is not included in the decision making process. There is no just
decision, if women are not included as equal partners in making
such decisions. This was the main motivation to open the issue of
women’s participation in politics and in the decision making
structures as well as the absence of women in the local and
national government at the beginning of the 90s. For ten years UWOM
has continuously been working in the area of women’s political
strengthening though initiatives, lobbying and conducting
trainings.
The implementation of the project “Women Can Do It II – Local
Elections” is of extraordinary importance in UWOM’s eff orts for
greater participation of women in politics and continuous work in
that fi eld. This project is a step forward towards including
gender concept in the political parties and a push for those women
to play more active role in the decision making.
The established cooperation among UWOM as a non governmental
organization, the Ministry of Labour and Social Policy- Unit for
promotion of gender equality, as a government institution, the
political parties and the international organization OSCE, can
serve as a model for achieving positive results. In order to
justify such model one could specifi cally consider the last Local
Elections’ results where the percentage of elected women councilors
increased from 8.4% to 22.4%. Elena Grozdanova Savka Todorovska
The number of women elected as members of municipal councils
increased threefold, from 8.4 % up to 22.4 %
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Sche
Political party
SDSM Svezana Orlovik
DUI Halide Paloshi
LDP
PDP
LPM
VMRO/ Irena Misheva
DPA Vildane Paloshi
SPM
OPERM Iseni Hariet
DA
Evaluative Conference – December 10, 2004Club of MPs, Skopje
Introduction
The Union of Women’s Organizations of Macedonia (UWOM), in
partnership with the Ministry of Labour and Social Policy - Unit
for Promotion of Gender Equality (UPGE) and in cooperation with the
Stability Pact gender Task Force (SP GTF), implemented the project
“Women Can Do It II – Local Elections 2005”, which was fi nancially
supported by the OSCE Spillover Monitor Mission to Skopje (OSCE
SMMS).
Project Goal
To increase participation of women in decision–making structures
at the local level.
Project Objectives
2 Introduce an Amendment to the Law on Local Elections requiring
a 30% gender quota of both genders to be placed on electoral lists
for councillors and mayors;
2 Enhance support among political parties and public for the
promotion and development of gender equality and political
empowerment of women;
2 Increase the number of women candidates elected into municipal
councils in the 2005 local elections.
Target Groups
Political leaders, Party candidates, Potential candidates,
Voters / General Public
Implemented activities
2 A Project Board was formed, responsible for project
implementation, consisting of project coordinator, project
assistant, 2 expert trainers (undergone regional SP GTF training),
political party liaison (representative per each political party),
legal experts (Law on Local Elections and Law on Local Self
Government), and a media consultant (journalist).
2 Signed agreement for cooperation with each political party
regarding the project implementation activities.
2 Presentation of the project to the public (voters) through the
media.
2 Workshops series: implementation of 10 workshops targeting 10
political parties: SDSM, DUI, VMRO - DPMNE, LDP, LPM, DPA, PDP, DA,
SPM and OPERM.
2 The representatives from each political party, assisted by
project staff , prepared a status report containing statistical and
political data about the promotion and introduction of gender
equality in each political party targeted by the project.
2 Legal Assessment Report prepared by Ms. Zagorka Tnokovska.
2 Media Assessment Report prepared by Ms. Biljana Bejkova.
2 Evaluative Conference implemented in December 2004.2 Gender
Analysis of the candidates lists.2 Final evaluation of the project
prepared by Ms. Sonja
Lokar.
Participants
The total number of educated politicians who participated was
242 out of which:2 238 women politicians;2 4 men politicians (3
from SPM and 1 from LP).
Educational level of the participants is:2 57% with university
degree;2 31% with secondary education;2 12% students.
The total number of participants who are employed is 63%, while
the other 37% of participants are unemployed.
Evaluative Conference
Evaluative Conference – December 10, 2004Club of MPs,
SkopjeAbout 60 people participated at the conference, out of which
53 were women from diff erent political parties.
Recommendations from
the Evaluative Conference:
2 Active eff orts of all parties involved in the project
activities to ensure “More elected women in 2005 Local
Elections”;
2 Permanent political education of women members of political
parties;
2 Strengthening cooperation among the political parties, NGOs
and trade unions
2 Adoption of the Law on Equal Opportunities and its
implementation;
2 Signing a declaration with the political party leaders
obligating each political party to put a woman candidate in every
third place on electoral lists;
2 Each political party to propose at least 3 women for mayor in
winnable seats.
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During the year 2002, when the project “WCDI II” was
implemented, all 10 political parties have been run by male
leaders. Nothing has changed until the year 2004.
During the year 2002, three political parties were not able to
make a summary of the answers related to the women status in their
membership, while two political parties admitted openly that they
do not have gender segregated statistics about the membership in
the political party, gender structure of its political parties
bodies or political parties election lists, and also do not have
information regarding their elected members at local and national
level in diff erent structures of power.
The political parties that could give gender breakdown data
about their membership, could only give precise answers on
me questions.
female politicians at national and local level. This is an
indicator that almost all political parties have a shortage of
professional female politicians at national, and especially at
local level.
During the year 2002, three political parties did not have women
organizations on national level, one political party had only
informally organized female group and 6 political parties had
formally organized women organizations. Only two years later, all
10 political parties have formally organized locally widespread
women’s organizations.
During the year 2002, only four political parties participating
in the project have included the gender concept in their programmes
(the best was LDP), only two political parties have gender quota in
their Statutes (SDSM and LPM) and one of them (LPM) has only for
the political party bodies.
WHAT WAS CHANGED?WHAT IS STILL A PROBLEM?
Table 1: Political parties that participated during 2004 �
Political party
President Female groupsPresident of the Female groups
Members of Parliament %
Women MPs
SDSM Vlado BuchkovskiFormally organized
Eleonora Petrova Mitrevska
35.8% 27.0%
DUI Ali AhmetiFormally organized
Azize Velin 13.3% 6.2%
LDP Risto PenovFormally organized
Liljana Popovska 9.0% 45.4%
PDPAbdulmenaf Begjeti
Formally organized
Ferdeze Sulejmani 1.6 % 0%
LPM Stojan AndovFormally organized
Golubka Nechevska Cvetanovska
4.2% 20.0%
VMRO/DMPNE
Nikola GruevskiFormally organized
Silvana Boneva 22.0% 15.0%
DPA Arben DgaferiFormally organized
Vildane Paloshi 5.8% 0%
SPM Ljubisav IvanovFormally organized
Vera Cherepnalkova 0.8% 0%
OPERM Nedget MustafaFormally organized
Iseni Hanriet 0.8% 0%
Impact of the project“Women Can Do It II 2004–2005”
- Final Evaluation - May 2005
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Table 3: Women on positions in power�
SDSM DUI LDP PDP LPVMRO
DMPNEDPA SPM OPERM DA
President of the political party
No No No No No No No No No No
Deputy President Yes Yes No Yes No Yes No No No Yes
General Secretary No Yes Yes No No Yes No No No No
% Women councillors 11 30 10.1 2 women 14.3 22 n / a 3.3 5
18.7
Number of women mayors
No No 1 No No No 1 No No 1
Women Presidents of Parliament
No No No No No No No No No No
% Women MPs 27 6.2 45.4 No 20 15 No No No No
% Women Ministers 11.5 0 16 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
SITUATION OF WOMEN PARTY ORGANIZATIONS WITHIN THEIR POLITICAL
PARTIES
All political parties involved in the project have formally
organized women organizations. There are many rules on the manner
in which female groups are forming their memberships.In most of the
political parties, all female members are automatically members of
the women party organizations. Only in three political parties
(LDP, DUI and DA) have female members chosen to become members of
the women party organizations. In two political parties (SDSM and
LDP), the women who are not party members are members of the women
party organizations. One political party (DA) remarked that male
party members are also part of the women party organization.All
parties women organisations have organised local branches or clubs,
but one political party (PDP) remarked that these local branches
are not very active. The programme of the women party organization
is an integrative part from the political parties programmes in
All women party organizations, except OPERM, have expressed that
they also cooperate with the women activists from the Trades Union
movement.
VISIBILITY OF THE WOMEN PARTIES ORGANIZATIONS IN THE MEDIA,
VISIBILITY OF WOMEN AS POLITICANS IN PUBLICITY MATERIALS
Most of the women parties organizations have expressed that they
have practise in the organization of independent press conferences
(except PDP and OPERM).Every political party already have at least
from 1 to 5 well known female politicians on national level
(Ministries, Vice President of the Parliament, MPs, Vice President
of the political parties, Directors of governmental institutions)
and from 5 to 20 locally well known female politicians (mayors,
councillors, directors of local public institutions). The weakest
on national as well as on local level is still OPERM. LPM is also
still weak on this issue.
Female Councillors
Year 2000 – no gender quota
Year 2005 – 22,4 % gender quota
8,4 % 22,4 %
From tables 2 and 3, it can be seen that the situation has
drastically improved during these two years: During 2004, seven
from ten political parties have special gender quota of the
political parties’ bodies that is respected. Two political parties
(SDSM and LDP) had more than 30% female candidates on the last
Parliamentarian Elections 2002, fi ve political parties have female
deputy President, and two political parties have female General
Secretary. Furthermore, the percentage of female Ministers is
slowly increasing.
-
for gender equality in most of the political parties programmes
in the year 2002, is changed with the situation that now just
e political party can not off er anything that is related
withpecting the gender quota asinks that the women need tocal party
not only with gender
ocratic system of values.
e at least general statementsality. The political parties thatt
in the year 2002, now have asome of them are developing
uality on special issues.
INR EQUALITY AL ELECTIONS
sed to adopt an Act on gender
d to ensure higher number of or women;party has promised
more
o be elected and to place onest, and other woman on thirdected;e
promised adoption of betterly violence, special health care
with special needs;ed to give more opportunitiesn all their
candidates lists and
2 DPA has promised more places for women on the candidates
lists;
2 SPM: Yes, they have promised that they would ensure bigger
space for women on the decision making positions;
2 OPERM: They have promised that they would ensure bigger space
for women in the bodies of the political decision making within the
society and political party;
2 DA: No;2 DUI has promised that it would take care for the
gender
equality and it would give real chance of their female
candidates.
The awareness-raising about gender equality within political
parties is proven with the fact that only two of them have not
involved any gender issues in their national electoral promises
(PDP and DA). Most of them promised more elected women, but two of
them have elaborated clear and concrete proposals for the gender
equality policy (SDSM and VMRO - DPMNE). The fact that we have so
obvious change in the pre - election attitude of the most powerful
political parties shows that the pressure of the Macedonian Women’s
Lobby as well as the work of the women activists within the
political parties has succeeded to put on position the gender
equality on the list of priorities of the political parties. It
could be noticed how serious the political parties were when they
promised that they would improve their statement in relation with
women in politics and work for improvement of the gender equality
policy. Half of the political parties, a large part of the
opposition, have not tried to call on the government to undertake
something specifi c in relation with the gender equality, but the
other fi ve had really worked to accomplish their electoral
promises
parties, the request from the Macedonian Women’s lobby to
establish a gender quota of minimum 30% for women and men in the
Law on Local Elections, was accepted by all political parties as
understandable.
litical party initiatives for advancement of gender
equality�
Yes No Proposal
x Law on Gender Equality
xActive lobbying for adoption of a 30% gender quota in the Law
on Local Elections
x
xSupport for the Article for a 30% gender quota in the Law on
Local Elections
x
xSupport for the Article for a 30% gender quota in the Law on
Local Elections
xxx
xSupport for the Article for a 30% gender quota in the Law on
Local Elections
ase of development of gender equality standards within the
political
REALITY CHECK – THE PROPOSAL BY UWOM FOR A 40% GENDER QUOTA FOR
WOMEN AND MEN ON THE CANDIDATES LISTS WITH RULES OF NOMINATION
The process of reform of the local self - government has made
the issue for the forthcoming Local Elections an issue of the real
redistribution of the economic and political power. In this
situation it was to be expected that the political parties would
not give their female candidates the real opportunity to be
elected, but they would have a tendency to put them on the bottom
of the candidates lists or on uncompetitive higher positions. This
was the main motivation why the UWOM, with support of the OSCE
SMMS, started with public appeal – sending it to Parliament and
relevant Ministries, as well as to the Macedonian Women’s Lobby –
for an Amendment that would increase the minimum of the 30% gender
quota of women and men on the 40% gender quota and to be
established substation rules for nomination of the candidates from
the less represented sex.The UWOM has requested at least one place
among the fi rst
fi ve and three places among the fi rst eight, to be given to
the candidates of the less represented sex.This initiative was used
as reality check of the level of impact and power that women have
gained within each political party, as well as an interest group
within civil society.This request has put the faithfulness of the
political partmale leadership to ashare the power with
2 Female political pthis radical reques
2 Macedonian Womit is working on th
2 All Parliamentary issue;
2 Even all women Mrequest for the rul
2 Media that werMacedonian Wom
These were indicatoequality of the powerstill very fragile and
it
Political parties support for the adoption of the gender quota
for
SDSM DUI LDP PDP LPMVMRO
DPMNESupported a 30% gender quota
Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Support for adoption of a rule for nomination with the gender
quota
Yes Yes Yes, on every third place
Yes Yes, on every third place
Yes, 15% in the fi rst third of the list
Following intense debate, the women MPs, especially those who
are working as visible leaders or activists of the Macedonian
Women’s Lobby for diff erent Parliamentarian parties, have wisely
lobbied for acceptable compromises.In an aggressive atmosphere of
male-female confrontation, they have succeeded in achieving
following compromise:
A 30% minimum quota for male and female candidates and at least
30% candidates from each gender must be placed on the upper and
lower halves of the candidates’ lists.
The compromise wamajority.
The process of fi nal pand the partial impthe gender quota hawas
and the strengthinitiative.
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IMPLEMENTATION OF THE GENDER QUOTA RULES – INSUFFICIENTRESPECT
OF THE RULE OF LAWNegative feedback regarding the changes was
obvious when the State Electoral Commission sent the guidelines for
implementation of the gender quota rules. Within its authority, the
State Electoral Commission adopted a guideline for application of
the Article 22 of the Law for Local Elections.
Quotation from the guideline:- “Because of the representation of
at least 30% of each gender on whole candidates’ list, as well as
on the fi rst and second half of the Candidates’ list of candidate
of the municipalities’ members and the Council of the city of
Skopje, the calculation is made according to the mathematical
rules, as follows: in the municipalities with 15 municipality
Council members the representation of at least 30% from diff erent
gender in general candidates list is 4.5%, from which on the fi rst
half of the list from approved 8 members is 2.4 %, but on the
second half of the list from approved 7 members is 2.1 %. According
to the applied mathematical rule in general 4 members correspond to
the positioning of 2 members each on the fi rst and second half of
the list”.UWOM made an objection to the SEC regarding these
guidelines; however, the SEC gave an identical explanation. UWOM
insisted that the SEC should not accept the lists on which there
were less than 5 women from the total number of 15 candidates on
the electoral lists.A second blow and a bigger disappointment in
relation to the rule of law is that the political party whose lists
clearly
infringed the gender quota rules, were not disqualifi ed from
the local elections. The consequences of this decision were that 30
candidates lists followed the guidelines of the SEC and, according
to our opinion, those political parties infringed both the word and
spirit of the Law.The municipal election commissions allowed the
participation of 33 candidates lists that did not respect the Law
on the Local Elections 2005: in other words, 22.17% of the
municipal election commissions allowed an open infringement of the
Law. With the addition of the municipalities that respected the
guidelines of the SEC, 42.35% of municipalities have infringed the
Law.
Dispect of the law:
2 33 candidates lists from diff erent political parties and
civil groups infringed the Law;
2 30 candidates lists applied the guidelines of the SEC which,
according to our opinion, also infringes of the Law;
2 22.17% of the municipal election commissions allowed an
infringement of the Law;
2 Combined with the municipalities that respected the guidelines
of the SEC, the total number of municipalities that have infringed
the law is 42.35%.
The importance of the quota legislation is very obvious from the
disappointing results regarding the election of female mayors.From
430 candidates for mayors, only 18 (4.18%) were female candidates.
Only one female candidate was elected in the fi rst round, and only
two more in the second round. From the ten political parties
involved in the project, the following had the female candidates
for mayors.
ELECTION COMMITMENTS FOR GENDER EQUALITY
Table 6: Political party commitments promises for the Local
Elections 2005 �
Political party Commitments
SDSM2 Establish municipal mechanisms for gender equality;2
Support for establishment of the municipality Gender Equality
Commission.
LDP
2 Increase female political power at the local level:2 Implement
an active employment policy and support for women entrepreneurs;2
Concrete action for eradication of domestic violence;2 Improve
childcare.
DUI2 Ensure that a large number of capable women are in
positions that will raise the status
of women in politics.
VMRO -DPMNE2 Support for establishment of the municipality
Gender Equality Commission;2 Improve childcare.
DA
2 Support for establishment of the municipality Gender Equality
Commission;2 Increase women political power at the local level;2
Active employment policy and support for women entrepreneurs;2
Municipality-fi nanced programme to improve women’s reproductive
health and
family planning;2 Establish SOS phone lines for domestic
violence;2 Improve childcare.
PDP2 Increase women political power at the local level;2 Active
employment policy and support for women entrepreneurs.
DPA
2 Support for establishment of the municipality Gender Equality
Commission;2 Increase women political power at the local level;2
Active employment policy and support for women entrepreneurs;2
Municipality-fi nanced programme to improve women’s reproductive
health and Table 7
From 430 candidates for mayors, only 18 (4.18%) were female
candidates. Only one female candidate was elected in the fi rst
round, and only two more in the second round. From the ten
political parties involved in the project, the following had the
female candidates for mayors.
Mayors
2,4 % 3,5 %
Year 2000 – no quota Year 2005 – no quota
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The parties included in our project now possess the following
percentages of women councillors following the 2005 Local
Elections:
10,10 %
17,50 % women on second position
22,76 % women on the third position
on the fi rst position of the candidates lists were women
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Regardless of the setbacks and infringements of the Law in many
cases, the 2005 local elections were big step forward in the
building of political power of women at the local level.
CONCLUSIONS
Prepared by Mrs. Sonja LokarChairperson of the Stability
Pact
Gender Task Force
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NATIONAL PROJECT
WOMEN CAN DO IT II LOCAL ELECTIONS 2005
INTRODUCING THE GENDER CONCEPT IN POLITICAL PARTIES AT LOCAL
LEVEL
Publisher:
Implementers:Elena Grozdanova – UPGE, MLSPSavka Todorovska –
UWOM
Expert Analyst:Sonja Lokar – SP GTF
Assistants:Danica JovanovaSvetlana Cvetkovska
Proof reading:Daniela Antonovska
Translation:Lirija Shabani – Albanian languageAneta Ilievska –
English language
Design, technical preparation:Koma Lab. – Skopje
Printing house:Vinsent Grafi ka
The Project supported byOCSE Spillover Monitor Mission to
Skopje
Copies:200 copies on Macedonian language200 copies on Albanian
language100 copies on Albanian language
Skopje, 2005
The content of this publication does not necessarily represent
the view or the position of the OSCE Spillover Monitor Mission to
Skopje
